


New Year, New Rules

by Darkhymns



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Humor, New Year's Eve, Rats & Mice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:46:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22081282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkhymns/pseuds/Darkhymns
Summary: Rita is too engrossed in her work to even think about the celebrations happening just outside her walls. But Estelle comes in to remind her with the help of a new friend.It -is- the Year of the Rat, after all.
Relationships: Estellise Sidos Heurassein/Rita Mordio
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11





	New Year, New Rules

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SkyWrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyWrites/gifts).



> I know I have another story for you, Sky, but here's another quick one with some of your favorite lesbians and also rats that are also your favorite. Because we're rats, _we're rats..._

Another noise outside, something like crackling or thunder. It rumbled through the castle floors, made the chemistry vials on their racks shake. Rita sighed in exasperation. _How annoying._ Her weather instruments hadn’t told her there would be a storm in the Imperial Capital tonight. Maybe a war had suddenly started. That wasn’t her concern though. She kept the curtains shut and continued in her work.

Rita usually didn't tolerate interruptions. The few who visited her had to learn quickly on what things were even allowed in her research lab. First off, Karol was _completely_ off-limits in any capacity. He could stand at the door if he really wanted to, but one step too close to her vials and she would leap from her chair and smack him right out into the hallway. Karol eventually learned of this very important rule. Just because she was staying at Zaphias Castle for the time being didn’t mean that everyone could just waltz in whenever they pleased.

Yuri at least understood. He took one look at her door, shrugged and waved, and was already on his way. Flynn would pass by with his curious glances, until Rita got a little sick of it and slammed the door in his face. Not like he could arrest her for being rude, despite how much he probably wanted to.

The only exception was Estelle, who would always politely knock and ask to be invited in before doing anything else.

As Rita was smoothing over some papers to read over her latest research, she heard that same knock. She didn’t bristle or flinch at the sound – she could tell when it was Estelle or one of the annoying castle guards by their knocks. One was heavy-handed, clearly didn’t care what dangerous chemicals she was handling, while the other was as quiet as a mouse. Maybe there was some slight annoyance that she had to strain her ears to even hear it sometimes.

“Come in,” she said automatically, not even turning around or waiting for Estelle to call out to her. Maybe she had missed tea time? She only dimly realized that the hour was getting late.

“Rita, I’m glad you’re awake.” There were soft footsteps, followed by the click of the door. “Oh, are you still working?”

“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” Rita cared for the girl, but sometimes she did wonder at Estelle’s questions that called for such obvious answers. “It’s the new formula I was telling you about… Besides, I can’t even sleep if I wanted to. There’s such a loud racket outside! I thought this place had like a royal curfew or something.”

A brief glance back and she caught the gleam of Estelle’s clothes – white interlaced with the pink hem of her dress. The princess had come by to see her a lot ever since Rita finally took up Estelle’s offer to stay in the castle. A large room to conduct her experiments in, free meals when she would remember to leave said room to go and eat, and those visits from Estelle, accompanied by sweet-tasting tea and cookies that always seemed to be freshly baked.

But Estelle hadn’t brought in any tea or cookies, though it appeared that she was holding something in her cupped hands. “Rita, do you not know what day it is today?”

“Um…” Rita scrunched her eyebrows, her brain too muddled with equations and chemical names to remember something as mundane as the date. “Isn’t it the last week of Bluerre? No, wait, that’s the old calendar system…”

“Rita! It’s New Year’s Eve! Don’t tell me you forgot!” Estelle rushed up in front of her, bouncing on her toes so much that her hair bounced along with her. “The noises outside are the fireworks! I was coming by to ask if you wanted to celebrate it with me.”

Rita blinked. “Oh, is that all it was?” Outside where there were crowds, and people shouting, and so much noise that she could barely think? She waved it off. “Not really in the mood for it. I’m in the middle of stuff anyway so you can just… Estelle, what’s that in your hands?”

It seemed as if Estelle had just been waiting for the chance to tell Rita all about it. Biting her lip in excitement, she held out her hands towards the other girl. "It's the year of the mouse, Rita! See? Look how adorable he is."

For indeed, she was holding a small animal in her hands. It was busy eating one of those shortbread cookies that Estelle would always bring to tea time, its pink tail swishing behind them as they nibbled quite furiously on the snack. It looked kind of weird though…

“Mice are such clever little animals, you know. They remind me of you a lot!” Estelle smiled brightly, looking as if she was in heaven by holding the animal. “I found this one in my room. A cat was trying to eat the poor thing but I was able to save him in time. I think it’s a sign of good fortune! This year will definitely be a good one now!”

Rita, only half-listening to Estelle’s musings, had been staring at the animal the entire time. She raised her eyes, her face expressionless. "...That's a rat, Estelle."

The fireworks continued to shake the sky outside. Only now did their light seep through the curtains, lighting up the stone floors. A mix of red and green, of sapphire and gold, and so many more to usher in the new year.

Neither of the women paid attention. Estelle stared wordlessly before turning back to the animal, still eating the cookie without a care in the world. "Hm? Oh no, he’s a mouse! Look, he’s got these round ears and-"

"It's a rat, Estelle! And not even a regular rat! That’s a monster rat! A Ratwigle!” Okay, that had come out a bit louder than she meant it to, but a weird panic was gripping her by seeing this…creature so close to her instruments, to her notes, to her chemicals and everything. “It's also the year of the rat! There’s no ‘mouse’ anything!" A pause. "You brought a _Ratwigle_ into my research lab! Estelle, I have _rules_ for that!"

Of course, she had just kept yelling like an idiot. Estelle made no visible reaction, already used to Rita’s random outbursts. But the mouse (Ratwigle?!) wasn’t.

It had jumped at the shouting, instinct soon taking over. It bounced out of Estelle’s hands to jump right onto the floor and then continued to bounce and roll underneath the tables with all its precious vials and papers. Because it was a Ratwigle. Maybe a baby Ratwigle even?

Rita screeched. "Get it away _get it away!"_ She knew she should have gotten one of the city cats in here!

“Rita! Calm down! I can call him back, don’t worry!” But the princess’ calm tone could barely be heard over the fireworks that only seemed to get even louder. Were they setting them off in the next room? Rita could barely hear herself think, but she could see all too well the little rat rolling across the floor like a ball. 

Some of her notes and books had been left on the floor as well – the way she researched had never been the most organized but it had never really mattered that much before. Seeing the rat make its way to one book, Rita visibly recoiled at the sight. “Don’t touch that!”

“Rita! Hold on! Here, it’s okay, little mousey. Come here, it’s okay!”

“Don’t let it poop on my research!” Rita held out her hand, fingers thrumming. “Fire ball!!”

“Rita, no!”

* * *

In the end, there were only a few scorch marks on the stone floors, and only one research paper singed. All in all, things had lucked out well enough. Except that rat was still very much alive.

Rita was seated within a far corner of her lab as Estellle finally coaxed the animal back to her with another cookie. A big waste of food, if Rita was concerned.

“I have him now, Rita,” she said, holding the creature within her palms. “Are…are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?!” Rita snapped, before biting her lip. She thought she had gotten better control of her temper by now. “Sorry…just, keep that thing away from me.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea you were afraid of mice.” Estelle patted its white fur, so gently that her fingers only ghosted across its back. “I just wanted it to be a fun surprise.”

“I don’t like pests, that’s all. I’m not afraid of them!” At least, she mostly wasn’t. If she had seen that thing out in the streets, then whatever. But not in her lab, with all of her precious materials (which she had nearly burned up, but that wasn’t the point). “Just, it could be crawling with diseases, you know! Did it bite you? You need to tell me these things!”

“Oh, he hasn’t bit me at all! He’s so friendly. I was thinking of keeping him, in case he has no other family.”

Only then did Rita notice something in the way Estelle talked about the rat. “You keep calling that thing a ‘he?’ How do you even know that it’s a boy?”

“Hm? Oh, well I checked earlier and-”

“Okay, never mind! That’s weird. You’re weird.” Rita pouted, folding her arms as she stayed seated in her corner. Like she could ever understand rats anyway, but here was Estelle, the rat expert. Ratwigle, even.

Estelle, seated with her new Ratwigle friend on the floor, kept looking up at Rita, then back to the animal/monster. The little creature was huddled up and shaking slightly, clearly agitated by previous events. Sort of like a certain person sitting in the corner…

“Would it be okay if I sat next to you?” she asked politely.

Usually, this wasn’t an issue, but Rita eyed the Ratwigle that was between her and the princess. She sighed. “Yeah, just…no sudden movements or anything.”

“Okay!” And like that, Estelle basically skipped to Rita before sitting on her knees before Rita. All while she was holding the Ratwigle precariously in her hands.

Rita stared, a frown on her lips. “You hold that thing like it was your baby or something.” She had said that bluntly, then inwardly winced once hearing it. Great, now she had just compared Estelle to a rat…Ratwigle…

“Ah, you think so? I was thinking how this reminded me of the time we took care of that baby! Remember? We had to feed it and make it go to sleep…” Estelle recalled the memory so brightly that Rita also couldn’t help but think back to it too. “I think this little guy must be very young too. He’s so small!”

Rita kept eyeing the ‘little guy,’ its weird fur and the way it just didn’t have any legs. Wasn’t this from the sewer below? “…Yeah, and we had to change its diaper and everything. And then there was that one time it threw up on me! Ugh, had to wash my shirt like six times.” She looked at the Ratwigle again, on how it was now washing its dark fur with its tongue, no longer as flighty or nervous as before. It seemed to have some trouble bending, since it was shaped like a perfect sphere and all. “At least this thing’s poop would be easier to handle.”

Estelle laughed, shuffling just a bit closer to Rita. “You think so? Maybe you can do the clean-up duty for me.”

“Hey, I never agreed to that!” She glared at the Ratwigle that now acted like everything was all okay, no problem. “It’d just run… _roll_ away from me anyway.”

“Aw, that’s not true, Rita.”

“Estelle, it literally just did exactly that five minutes ago.”

“Well, that’s because you were shouting… When you don’t shout, most animals would be able to warm up to you.”

Rita shrugged, wondering why she was seeking the approval of a baby monster of all things. “Cats are good enough for me.”

But that was a talent of Estelle’s – making friends with anyone so easily, finding the little positives in even the most tactless of things. Rita moved a little closer as well, though she still kept up her pout.

“So, are you actually keeping it?”

“I would like to,” Estelle confessed, looking down at Ratwigle. It snuffled around her palm, apparently content to stay there instead of getting away. “But I’m sure it already has a home. I just wanted to help keep it alive into the new year at least.”

Rita thought on it. “Maybe it is a sign…or something.” Even if she thought omens and fortunes were bogus. “Wait, so you weren’t outside celebrating with everybody?”

Estelle raised her head to Rita. “No. I didn’t see a need to. When I found this little mouse, I thought that maybe… well, never mind. It wasn’t too important anyway. I didn’t mean to get in the way of your work.”

Sometimes, Rita really was an idiot. She groaned. “Dammit… I’m sorry.”

“Huh? But I just came in here and messed up all your research-”

“Gah, let me apologize already! Of course I’d like to spend New Year’s with you! I always like spending time with you!” She huffed, then turned her gaze to the floor. “I just get caught up in stuff and then act stupid about it.”

But she couldn’t even hear the fireworks anymore. Perhaps the celebration was already over and she had made Estelle miss out on something that could have been so fun for her.

The princess had moved so much closer that their knees now touched, and she couldn’t avoid the rat-mouse-whatever it was in-between them anymore. Yeah, it was kinda close… but from this angle, she supposed it looked mildly cute.

“I don’t think I would have had the courage to ask you if it weren’t for my new friend,” Estelle said, her voice soft and shy. “Do you think you can make it up to me then?”

Just relieved that Estelle hadn’t rebuffed her apologies, Rita nodded. “I mean, sure, of course. What is it?”

“Well, on New Year’s Eve, it’s supposed to be customary to kiss someone!” Estelle laughed nervously, her eyes darting around in shyness, but her smile forming. “Usually on the very minute it turns into the new year. It’s supposed to bring good luck, so I thought-”

Rita leaned in to kiss Estelle. She was surrounded by the scent of cherry blossoms, all within the brash aura of chemicals still piping away in their vials, within the ember still scorched onto the stone floors.

She kissed her and felt the softness that melded its way down her chest into her legs, shutting her eyes. It wasn’t long before Estelle pressed back, sounds leaving her throat, whether of surprise or something else, Rita couldn’t really know.

Then, just as quickly, Rita leaned back, turning to the side. She didn’t need to even feel her face to know how red it was. “Sorry that was kinda late, but…tried to make up for it.”

She only flicked her eyes back quickly to catch Estelle’s expression – her cheeks also red, her mouth half-parted, nearly inviting another kiss. Was that what she wanted? Maybe she should try that again, but if Estelle was silent, maybe she hadn’t done a good job…

“Did you use your tongue?” Estelle asked rather bluntly, more curious than accusing.

Rita froze, then stuttered out, “I-I said I was m-making up for it! And…that’s a thing people do!” Right? Wasn’t that a thing people did? Or had Yuri just been messing with her when he suggested her to try that? Dammit, if he did, she was going mess _him_ up later. Actually, what kind of conversation had they been having that he would tell her that anyway?

“Ah, sorry! It was just… a surprise! But, a very nice surprise…” Estelle giggled, pressing both hands to her cheeks. “It really felt so nice. Thank you, Rita. Um, do you think we could…”

At that, Rita was already guessing to her suggestions. She was seated up straight, eyes riveted to Estelle’s lips and remembering how sweet it had been and- Wait a minute.

“Estelle,” she said carefully, looking at the girl’s hands, still pressed to her face. “Where did the rat go?”

“…Eh?”

“The rat, Estelle. The Ratwigle!” She pointed frantically at Estelle’s lap. “Didn’t you just have it a minute ago?”

She felt something shifting in her lap just then. With wide eyes, she looked down.

“Remember to not shout, Rita!” Estelle warned quickly.

And maybe Rita listened to Estelle, staying as calm as she could be and making friends with a rat friend. Or maybe she let all sense leave her and tried to get the rat as far away from her as possible, her artes going a little haywire, her lab getting a little more chaotic with each panicked yell.

It didn’t matter either way. It was a new year, with new rules she would just have to get used to. She could adjust, eventually – as long as Estelle was by her side.

**Author's Note:**

> [This is all I can think of even though it barely has anything to do with the story...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXQwx1EolD8)


End file.
